KF2 Hell on Earth Team Play: Roles and Camp Heavy Tactics

This is a community Hell on Earth guide written for build v1013 about playing as a team rather than chasing kills. The author splits the work into roles and explains how perks share them. Balance has changed since, so treat the numbers as historical, but the role thinking still applies. See also the generic team composition and roles page.

Roles

The author lists six: trash clearer, SC (Scrake) killer, FP (Fleshpound) killer, aggro/puller, tank and support.

By perk alone:

• Commando: trash clearer, support
• Support: support
• Berserker: trash clearer, FP killer, aggro/puller, tank
• Medic: support
• Demolitionist: support
• Firebug: trash clearer, support
• Gunslinger: SC killer, support

With team synergy every perk gains more: Commando and Support add SC and FP killing, Medic adds trash and SC, Demolitionist adds trash and FP, Firebug adds SC and tank, Gunslinger adds trash and FP, and Berserker can fill every role by using EMP for teammates. A Demolitionist who knows what they are doing can even solo 6-player Scrakes and Fleshpounds. The roles describe the perk, not what the player can do.

Role 1: Trash clearer

Kill Clots, Cysts, Slashers, Gorefasts, Bloats, Crawlers, Stalkers, Husks and Sirens before they reach the team.

• Commando and Gunslinger: land as many headshots as possible.
• Support: line up shots to hit several ZEDs at once.
• Firebug: fire the Caulk 'N Burn, flamethrower or microwave gun in the general direction.
• Because fire disturbs others' aim, Firebug and Berserker should watch a side or entrance so Commando, Support and Gunslinger keep clear lines.

Advanced: teams often wipe not because of the Scrake or Fleshpound but because trash piles up behind it. As a trash clearer, position behind the large ZED and keep clearing while the rest focus it, without pulling its aggro. A second skill is pushing back ZED spawns: when everybody is on the large ZEDs and spawns get closer, push forward to force farther spawns and restore a neutral position.

Role 2: Scrake and Fleshpound killers

The Scrake killer role suits capable Gunslingers, who have the fastest solo clear times. Fleshpound killers are usually Demolitionist (stun) plus Berserker, though two or more Gunslingers can also do it quickly.

Team tactics (while teammates are alive):

• Scrake: a Berserker EMP (disables it for 5 seconds), then team headshots. On Hell on Earth with 6 players the head has 1875 HP against 5967 body HP, so headshots matter.
• Fleshpound: the Demolitionist's on-perk grenade stuns it on the fly. With C4, grenades and the RPG-7 doing around 1000 per hit (two C4 without cooldown adds about 2000), a single Demolitionist can strip 50-60% of its health during the stun, and with a Berserker the kill fits within it.

Solo tactics (no EMP or dead teammates): the author shows solo Scrake kills with the AA-12, AK, EMP plus Eviscerator, microwave gun splash, Pulverizer, RPG-7, SCAR and Zweihander, and Fleshpound calm mechanics: a Fleshpound that rages with a player in sight never calms down, one that rages without sight will calm down, and it calms when hitting its target such as a door.

Role 3: Aggro and puller

Mostly a Berserker job, since holding aggro goes with tanking, but other perks can do it. Rules taken from a community spreadsheet:

A ZED will not change its current enemy if:

• too little time has passed since the last change (minimum 5 seconds);
• the new potential enemy is already targeted by at least 3 other ZEDs;
• it is performing a melee attack or its AI is paused;
• the current enemy is within strike range;
• it has line of sight to the current enemy and that enemy is closer than the new one.

It might change enemy if it has no line of sight to the current enemy, or if the current enemy is more than 20% farther than the new potential enemy.

The author shows a Commando holding a Scrake's attention to clear wave 1 on Burning Paris without leaving the main street, and a Berserker pulling a large ZED into a 1v1 while giving trash clearers a position.

Role 4: Tank

Four methods for a Berserker:

1. Stand still and hold block until teammates get the kill.
2. Parry every attack and keep blocking unblockables. At the time this was not possible because guard broke when you tried to parry a glowing attack, so step back as soon as you see the glow.
3. Counterattack after each successful parry.
4. Weave in and out to avoid damage while counterattacking at every opportunity.

Role 5: Support

Hard Supports (not primarily killing) clear overwhelmed players, keep health up and provide stuns and stumbles. Soft Supports also help kill.

• Commando (soft): keeps trash at range without moving, backs up a teammate and goes for quick Scrake decapitations. Avoid fighting Fleshpounds. Commando-exclusive: extending Zed Time up to 5 times by landing headshots.
• Support, soft: a hard perk to play right now, needs money. Buy a hunting shotgun early and the AA-12 late; block spawns and pick off small numbers.
• Support, hard: Katana to parry Scrake and Fleshpound, T1 plus T2 or AA-12 for trash, and a medic pistol to heal. The author prefers using Support in a large-ZED role.
• Berserker, soft or ranged: use a SCAR to keep everything at bay while teammates kill, then go melee when it gets rough. One video shows a ranged Berserker with a Demolitionist: SCAR plus RPG headshots on Scrakes, stuns on Fleshpounds.
• Medic (hard): heal before anything. Grenades are good for tanks and clearing entryways without large ZEDs. Medic weapons have high stumble and hit power, which can delay Scrakes with leg shots and cancel Siren and Husk attacks.
• Firebug (soft): like the Berserker, a killing perk; clear trash close to teammates.
• Demolitionist (hard): make sure no Fleshpound ever touches the team. Stun it with the on-perk skill; in the 3-5 second random stun window you should deal about 5000 damage, with the Berserker and others adding the remaining 3000. For a Scrake still alive after the EMP, try an impact headshot (600 of 1875). Help overwhelmed teammates with C4 and RPG shots. As of v1013 the author asks Demolitionists not to use Nuke, because it can bring unwanted raged Scrakes and Fleshpounds. Explosives only do 50% damage to Scrake and Hans.
• Gunslinger (soft): like the Commando, it keeps trash off without leaving position, but is best for solo Scrake kills; leave Fleshpounds to the Fleshpound killers. It takes practice to find a method that works for you.

Putting it together

In a two-way funnel, ideally 2 Scrake killers, 1 Fleshpound killer, 1 trash clearer and 2 support players. The author's preference: 1 ranged Berserker, 1 Commando, 2 Gunslingers, 1 Medic and 1 Demolitionist without Nuke. That gives constant trash killing from the Commando and SCAR Berserker, quick Scrake takedowns from the Gunslingers and fast Fleshpound stuns from the Demolitionist. A Firebug can go trash or large, and should be placed with the Berserker since fire effects spoil the rifle and shotgun players' headshots; if placed with them, clear only close trash.

The guide's aim is to open people to team play and survive the outbreak without chasing kills.